


Poetry

by CastleAndMurdock



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bad Poetry, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, MY BABIES, Nervousness, OTP Feels, One Shot, Poetry, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series, Short One Shot, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Young Love, so cute I'm gonna die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 19:03:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7066303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastleAndMurdock/pseuds/CastleAndMurdock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elijah nervously tries to confess his love to Gertrud through the art of poetry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poetry

"No! Wrong!" Elijah cried, scribbling through another line on the page. There were at least two dozen pieces of paper crushed up into balls scattered all over his desk. His hands were all stained up with black ink, it was smudged all over his pale skin. He threw the pen down and groaned, his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration as he grabbed a new page. He quickly started writing again, his usually neat handwriting was poor and shaky. He tried to make it look as nice as he could, which proved to be difficult with how fast his heart was beating. He eventually wrote down the final word and smiled, though it quickly disappeared at the realization that it might not be good enough for her. He slumped over the desk in defeat, dropping the page as he held his face in his hands. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself, he took a deep breath. Tossing the pen aside for the final time, he grabbed his page and stood up. With another equally deep breath, he walked across his room and opened the door, checking the hallway before stepping out. He clutched the paper tightly in his hand as he walked downstairs towards the kitchen. He could hear his parents making idle conversation in the sitting room, and he quietly sneaked past them.

The kitchen door was in sight now, and Elijah shakily made his way closer to it. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. Maybe she wasn't there, and he could come back later once he had built up some more confidence. He could hear water running from the sink, and the occasional sound of a dish hitting lightly against another dish. He ran a hand through his hair, accidentally smudging ink across his nose. With one final breath, he mustered enough courage to open the door. Elijah peered inside the kitchen. Gertrud's back was to the door as she stood at the sink, washing up the last of the dishes before turning the water off and drying her hands with a towel. Elijah cleared his throat as he walked in. Gertrud turned to him and smiled.

"Hello, Mr. Van Dahl." she greeted happily. Elijah bowed his head slightly in reply, struggling to smile.

"Miss Gertrud," he said . "How are you this afternoon?"

"I was just about to start dinner," She smiled at his obvious nerves. "How are you?"

"F-fine." he stuttered, smoothing out the paper in his hands where he had accidentally crumpled it. "I-I hope I'm not bothering you..." Gertrud shook her head.

"You are not bothering me." she insisted. He nodded his head.

"Oh, good." Elijah gulped. "I um...wanted to read something for you." Gertrud set the dish towel aside, now very interested in what he had to say. She smiled sweetly, encouraging him. Elijah held the paper up to his eyes. He barely got the first line of his poem out before his voice cracked and he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He apologized and started again, but stopped in the same place, too embarrassed to continue. With shaky breath, he handed her the ink stained page. She brushed her hands over her apron before accepting the poem. She read it over, smiling as Elijah stood with bated breath, waiting intently for her reaction. It's quite possibly the worst poem she had ever read in her life, but never before had a poem been written about her. It didn't matter how badly written it was, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever read. Her smile widened as her eyes scanned over the final line, blinking back tears. Gertrud held the paper close to her chest and looked up at Elijah.

"Do you really feel this way?" she asked. He nodded in quick succession.

"Yes," he confessed. "I meant every word." Gertrud blushed and looked down at the floor. Elijah stopped breathing, though only for a moment, afraid that he must have offended her somehow. When she looked up again, she quickly closed the gap between them, pressing a quick kiss to the top of his cheekbone. Elijah flushed a deep red, suddenly beyond speechless. He bolted from the kitchen and ran all the way back to his bedroom. He closed the door and pressed his back to it. Once the shock faded, he smiled to himself, a rush of pride flowed through him. He did it. The world hadn't ended, as he had just known it would. And she _kissed him._ A warm feeling flooded into his heart, rising up into his head, swirling through his thoughts. He was completely and foolishly in love with the beautiful cook downstairs, and despite what his parents thought, it wasn't going to change a thing.


End file.
